Hyderabad institute to turn global nodal agency for millets

Hyderabad: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget announcements on Wednesday, announced to transform the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) into a centre of excellence as part of the drive to make India a global millet hub.

IIMR director Dr C.V. Ratnavathi was elated for the institute to be acknowledged by the finance minister. She said that increased support from the government will aid in enhancing its efforts to share the best practices and technology globally.

“As proposed by our Prime Minister, 2023 has been declared as the International Year of Millets by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and IIMR has been identified as the nodal agency for sharing research, technology and best practices,” Ratnavathi told Deccan Chronicle.

“Our technologies have been identified to be showcased globally. In that regard, the government will be supporting our activities. It will also expand our efforts to extend the outreach of awareness programmes to contribute in making the country a global hub for millets, which is a very crucial part of the campaign,” she said.

The IIMR has been researching the value addition of millets for over 30 years and conducting research into 11 types of millets for the past eight years. The institute has been working with various states, NGOs and agriculture universities for enhancing the produce and quality of millets, under the ministry of agriculture.

“We also promote start-ups and entrepreneurs through hands-on training for business and have been working with farmers in terms of providing training and primary processing facilities, where farmers can take their crop to the market directly without a middleman. Women are also trained in cooking millet food items,” Ratnavathi said.

That the recognition in the Budget had acknowledged the work of the past, present and future researchers and the focus will continue to remain on sharing the best research practices globally, she reiterated.